Liberia has a national policy framework aimed at putting young people at the center of peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and security. However, the real test is whether they will be given the power and resources to help implement it. This was the central message from Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) Executive Director Esther S. Davis Yango, who called for a fundamental shift in how young people, particularly young women, are engaged in decisions affecting Liberia's peace and security.
Yango spoke at the Liberia Youth, Peace and Security Conference 2026 in Ganta City, Nimba County, where young people from Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, Bomi, and Sinoe gathered to discuss youth leadership, conflict prevention, community peacebuilding, transitional justice, and implementation of Liberia's National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security. The conference was organized by the National Young Women Political Council of Liberia (NYWPCL) in partnership with PeaceGen project implementing partners and other national stakeholders.
Yango emphasized that a policy document alone cannot transform the realities young Liberians face. She argued that young people should no longer be viewed simply as beneficiaries of peacebuilding programs but as peace actors, community leaders, and partners in shaping Liberia's future. Yango called for young people to have a meaningful space in decisions about peace and security, enabling them to influence policies, participate in decision-making, and contribute to conflict prevention and early-warning systems.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has developed an operational framework outlining activities, timelines, lead institutions, and partner responsibilities for implementing the National Action Plan. However, Yango wants that implementation to reach beyond government offices and conference rooms and into communities. She stressed that policies without implementation would not change the realities that Liberians face.
Yango also highlighted the need for resources, clear institutional responsibilities, measurable targets, and regular monitoring to move Liberia's Youth, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security commitments from paper to practice. She called for the integration of women, peace, and security commitments into national peacebuilding, development, and local governance processes.
Yango placed young women at the center of Liberia's peacebuilding conversation, noting that they face specific barriers, including violence, exclusion from decision-making, and economic insecurity. She called for youth and women's participation to be incorporated into transitional justice processes, including opportunities for intergenerational dialogue. Yango also challenged government and development partners to invest in youth- and women-led organizations already working within communities.
The real measure of success will not be the number of conferences held, policies adopted, or commitments announced, but whether young people can actually influence decisions. Yango urged a fundamental shift from consultation to meaningful participation, from participation to influence, from policy commitments to implementation, and from viewing women and young people as beneficiaries to recognizing and supporting them as partners in peacebuilding and accountability.
Key points
- Yango demands a fundamental shift in how young people are engaged in decisions affecting Liberia's peace and security.
- Liberia's National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security was launched in August 2025.
- Yango calls for resources, clear institutional responsibilities, and measurable targets to implement Liberia's Youth, Peace and Security commitments.
